The regulator said the decision by its board of directors comes after a “comprehensive and transparent regulatory process”, which included a third set of public hearings held in the Northern and Western Cape provinces in late September and early October “so that public concerns could be considered in the decision”.
“The NNR’s primary mandate is to protect persons, property, and the environment against the harmful effects of radiation. This licence approval was granted after a rigorous safety assessment which confirmed that all regulatory requirements for the period of long-term operation have been met for Unit 2 and relevant public representations were considered in the decision-making process,” NNR Board Chairperson Protas Phili said.
Koeberg, near Cape Town, is the only currently operating nuclear power plant on the African continent. Unit 1 entered commercial operation in 1984 and unit 2 in 1985. Both units have undergone extensive maintenance and upgrades to enable their long-term operation: unit 2 was reconnected to the South African grid on 30 December 2024 after the completion of extensive maintenance to extend the unit’s operational lifespan by an additional 20 years.
Nationally owned utility Eskom submitted its application to extend the operating lives of the two pressurised water reactors by an additional 20 years beyond their initial 40-year operating lives to the regulator in May 2021. In July 2024, the NNR granted the utility a licence to continue operating unit 1 until 21 July 2044: it will now be able to continue operating unit 2 until 9 November 2045.
Eskom Chief Nuclear Officer Velaphi Ntuli said the extension is a result of “hard work, focus and dedication” from employees at the plant, across the company and throughout South Africa’s nuclear value chain.
“The rigorous safety assessments and regulatory requirements Eskom had to meet to achieve the long-term operation demonstrate the depth and pipeline of nuclear engineering talent available in South Africa that delivers high-quality jobs,” he said. “We continue to maintain and develop this talent through investing in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education as we look to build new nuclear capacity in the coming years in line with the integrated resource plan recently published,” he added, referring to the latest version of the government’s plans to transform the energy sector to jump-start development and economic growth, including 5200 MW of new nuclear capacity as the country rebuilds its nuclear supply chain.
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